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Extend your life expectancy by cleaning the indoor air you breathe with an air purifier.

You eat well, don’t smoke, exercise fairly regularly and drink alcohol in moderation – and yet, some days, you feel like you’ve been hit by a large bus.

Sound familiar?

Because air pollutants are often not visible to the naked eye, many of us don’t realise just how debilitating poor quality indoor air can be on the human body – but the effects of indoor air pollution should not be overlooked. They range from short-term afflictions – like eye, nose and throat irritations – to more serious long-term effects like respiratory disease and even cardiovascular conditions.

And, while we may think we can eliminate common culprits like pet dander, dust, smoke and mould spores by keeping a clean home or office, the fact is that dusting and vacuuming are simply not enough to remove all these daily pollutants from the air we breathe.

But fret not, because it’s not all doom and gloom for those after a life of health and longevity in a world where clean air seems like an unattainable ideal – help is at hand.

Think of air purifiers as pollution-busting superheroes – except these clean air crusaders are by no means fictitious or out of reach – they are practical, affordable and dependable devices that have been proven to improve and lengthen lives, if not save them.

Air purifiers work by way of HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters that clean and purify the air that is circulated – and that you breathe daily – indoors. HEPA filters physically trap the tiny particles that vacuum cleaners and other cleaning equipment merely recirculates into the air.

A health must-have in your home or office, air purifiers not only clear airborne bacteria quickly and quietly, they are also very effective in the removal of odours, allergens and other pollutants that are inevitably present in indoor air. In fact, research has shown that HEPA filters remove about 99.9% of dust particles and impurities from the air.

According to The New York Times, studies have found improved air quality has prevented tens of thousands of premature deaths from heart and respiratory disease. Simply put, “Clean air, longer life” (Harvard Magazine).

The conclusion: air purification equals the removal of impurities…equals clean air…equals better health…equals longer life.

So you have to ask yourself, can you afford not to invest in an air purifier?

For information on pbOffice’s range of air purification systems, visit our Air Purifiers web page, or call 010 300 4893.

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The customer communication firm has just launched a new suite of mail folding and inserting machines that will fit any size business’ needs.

Being a company that believes in moving with the times – and bringing its customers only state-of-the-art technology – PBSA has upgraded its folding and inserting machines to the Relay range from global technology company Pitney Bowes.

The move gives pbOffice – the division of PBSA that provides automation solutions to serve mailing, marketing and communication applications for small and medium-sized enterprises – the ability to better serve its customers by being able to more accurately align machine specifications to specific application needs.

Quieter to operate and more aesthetically pleasing, the new Relay inserter range is more office-friendly. More importantly though, the Relay ranges drives higher performance, increasing productivity and allowing you to focus your time and energy on driving your business.

The Relay range of inserters comes with a number of vital features and scores of benefits. These state-of-the-art machines come with guarantees of:

Data protection for your customers: This is an invaluable benefit, especially given the country’s personal information laws (does the term POPI Act ring any bells?).

100% Accuracy – every time: The Relay range of inserters was specifically designed to deliver accurate, reliable processing of mail – so you can be confident your mail is not only getting out on time, but the right information is getting to the right customer. Every time.

Ease of use: Even if you’re not technically inclined, you can be up and running with your Relay inserter in no time, ensureing your monthly mail gets out quickly and easily.

Customisation: You shouldn’t have to tailor your mail programmes to the limitations of your equipment. With the Relay range of inserters, you have the ability to process various sizes of letters with the option of processing flat-sized envelopes or mailers.

For more information and model specifications relating to the various machines offered by pbOffice, click on the links below:

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The effectsof mining on human health are shocking. Take control of the air you breathe indoors with an air purification system.

South Africa is a mining mecca and, while the country’s mining riches may be great for the economy, the same cannot be said for our health.

Fortunately, however, the serious health risks associated with mining pollution – as outlined in this article, below – can be considerably mitigated by purifying the indoor air you breathe at home and at work with a good quality air purification system.

pbOffice, a division of PBSA, offers a range German-made air purifiers, humidifiers and combo units to serve all household and business premises indoor air purification requirements. Designed and manufactured by Ideal in Balingen, Germany our state-of-the-art devices work on a multi-stage air purification system, which filters almost 100% of pollutants from the air before they reach your lungs.

Mining in South Africa and your health

The adverse effects of mining activity on human health – and the environment at large – is a stark reality that environmentalists, politicians and civil activists alike have been trying to grapple with for years now. Unfortunately, it is a reality we cannot escape.

South Africa – the world’s third largest coal exporter – is also home to a host of other minable minerals, including diamonds, gold, platinum, palladium, chromium, uranium, manganese, ilmenite, zirconium, vanadium, rutile and vermiculite.

Over the past few months there has been a heightened focus on the effects of coal mining, in particular, on human health. In September, UK-based air quality and health expert Dr Mike Holland visited South Africa and uncovered some shocking air quality issues surrounding the country’s coal-mining activities.

According to Holland, air pollution from coal-fired power stations kills more than 2 200 South Africans and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children every year. The accumulative monetary damage to the economy – which includes healthcare costs and lost working days – is more than R30-billion a year.

On 26 September 2017, the South African Medical Research Council released research findings on Air Quality and Human Health in South Africa that corroborate the gravity of the situation, as laid out in Holland’s reports.

The council report outlines how air pollution plays a direct role in a number of adverse health conditions in adults and children, and points out that the situation is only set to worsen, due to climate change.

The report highlights indoor air as one of the biggest culprits in its report background: “In 2015, 6.4 million deaths (and 167.2 DALYs*) were attributed to air pollution globally. Household air pollution accounted for 2.8 million of these deaths [and] ranked [as the] 7th leading risk factor attributing DALYs globally in 2013.”

Reduce your risk

There is an often-quoted statistic that indicates many adults spend up to 90% of their time indoors, between home and the office.

What’s worse, is that children are now starting to spend more time indoors in South Africa too. Earlier this year, in February, Stats SA’s Victims of Crime survey revealed that most South Africans spend less time in public open spaces or allow their children to play outside for fear of crime.

When you consider that some studies have shown indoor air to be two to five times more polluted than the air outside, it is clear that it is the indoor air that we breathe which should be our first line of attack when it comes to defending our – and our children’s – lungs.

And this goes for office workers, too. According to research conducted by the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, employers can improve workforce performance by up to 10% through improvements in the quality of indoor air.

Air purifiers have been proven to limit the risks of illness caused by airborne pollutants by eliminating the vast majority of airborne substances that are a danger to our health and well-being, and cleaning the air we breathe.

In light of our environmental circumstances, never has it been more crucial than it is today, to ensure air we take into our lungs on a daily basis – both at home and at work – is clean. Invest in your health today, by investing in an air purifier.

For more information on the various Ideal models and features, visit our Air Purifiers web page or call 010 300 4893.

[NOTES]

* The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.

Featured

Investing in a good quality air purifier will create a pure-air haven for you and your family, curbing those pesky summer sniffles.

It’s the height of summer, many South Africans’ favourite season and a time when you should be enjoying the radiance and outdoor activities the season brings – but you feel like you’ve been battered with a winter flu stick.

If this sounds like you – runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes and nose – you may be one of the many people who suffers from seasonal allergies, also known as hay fever. This is a type of inflammation in the nose caused by the immune system overreacting to allergens in the air. Although pollen is the primary culprit, other common airborne irritants like pet dander, smoke and dust exacerbate the condition.

According to the Allergy Society of South Africa, up to 20% of South Africans suffer from allergic reactions, with hay fever being rife – especially during change of season. And, although this often overlooked ailment does not come with the same level of notoriety that winter conditions like flu do, it can be just as debilitating.

And it is not only during waking hours that hay fever affects health and performance. According to research, two-thirds of hay fever sufferers continue to experience symptoms while trying to sleep. “[These people] are losing an average of more than an hour of sleep a night as they struggle with streaming noses and itchy eyes,” writes the UK’s Daily Mail.

“An estimated 80 per cent of people with asthma are at increased risk of having an attack because they also suffer from hay fever.”

Now for the good news

But don’t cancel your summer plans just yet – the good news is, there are sure-fire means of managing and mitigating hay fever symptoms considerably. pbOffice, a division of PBSA, offers you one of the most safe and effective of these with its German-made indoor air purification systems by IDEAL.

Studies have shown that people spend around 90% of their time indoors – a figure that is rising, not abating – and indoor air can be up to 100 times dirtier than the air outside. Unlike the outdoors, airborne irritants and bacteria are largely trapped, churning constantly in the indoor air that we spend so much time breathing in.

A good quality air purifier in your home and office environment can trap up to 100% of these summer spoilers, including germs, dust, pet dander, smoke, pollen, mould spores, odours and vapours and various allergens.

Award-winning online information source HowStuffWorks, confirms air purifiers – in particular those that have met the strict regulations and attained HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) certification – can help with allergies.

“No matter how much you clean your home, you cannot rid the air completely of allergens and other airborne irritants. Air purifiers are devices that are designed to clean the air in your house and improve the quality of air you and your family breathe.”

pbOffice’s range of top-quality air purifiers feature all the vital mechanisms that are needed to turn contaminated, harmful indoor air into clean, allergen-free air – including HEPA filters and intelligent air quality sensors.

Our devices work on a multi-stage air purification system, which filters almost 100% of the smallest particles and pathogenic germs from the polluted air before they reach your airway.

Investing in an air purifier for your home and office will allow you to breathe and sleep better, by turning your indoor environment into a safe, clean haven away from the wave of airborne irritants that vex you on a daily basis.

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As a business or institution that relies on productivity, time is valuable – let pbOffice help you maximise it.

It has been said that time – not money – is the 21 century’s most precious commodity. It is free, yet priceless and, once spent, it can never be regained.

So it comes as no surprise that the modern-day business places so much emphasis on time saving, and productivity is measured according to stricter deadlines than ever before.

At pbOffice, a division of customer communication firm PBSA, we pride ourselves on offering state-of-the-art solutions that allow our customers to not only make the most of their valuable time – but also to experience tangible results in as little time as possible.

Epitomising this methodology, is our pressure sealer product range. Pressure sealers cut manual printing, folding and sealing time down by a massive 90%.

With exclusive distribution rights on Welltec pressure sealers in Africa, pbOffice is the number one supplier of pressure sealers and payslip sealers (also referred to as one-step mailers) in South Africa.

Welltec is the world’s number one desktop pressure sealer company, holding over 75% of the European and Asian market since its inception in 1999. The firm exports products to over 30 countries across the globe.

Largely used in South Africa for preparing salary slips, municipal bills and other mail notices such as traffic fines, pressure sealers offer a host of time-saving – and other – gains to any industry that has a business mailing component to it.

Reaping benefits

Also referred to as variable information printing, our pressure seal digital printing systems allow text and graphics to be changed from one printed document to the next, without slowing down the process.

Pressure seal technology completely does away with the need for separate folding, filling and sealing of envelopes. This alone represents huge time savings. And, because documents go directly from being printed, to pressure sealed, there is no need for handling of documents.

Apart from being massive time savers, pressure sealers give business mail an indisputable quality of professionalism and security.

Pressure sealed documents do not need envelopes – they serve as their own. This means you save on time, money and storage and handling. Our machines offer a range of solutions for different form sizes and fold types.

Finally, in terms of security, pressure sealers complete documents with solid, consistent edges, while high-pressure sealing makes for a much more effective seal than traditional envelopes. And, because each piece of mail is individual and self-contained, there is no risk of two confidential documents being put together in the same envelope, or a document being placed in the wrong envelope.

pbOffice currently supplies pressure sealers to an extensive customer base and offers solutions to suit all industry mailing needs.

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Don’t let the ailments associated with the season get the better of you – create pure indoor air, breathe freely and enjoy good health this winter.

The sudden icy temperatures over the past week are proof that winter is well and truly upon us and, while many may associate allergies with the summer months, the truth is that winter is a breeding ground for the particles and germs responsible for poor health during this time.

Studies have shown that most people spend as much as 90% of their time indoors in winter – if not more – and, with the cold season being the time dusty winter coats and blankets are brought out, and long-dormant heating devices powered up, indoor air quality hits an annual low.

On top of this, the chances of transmission of common winter ailments rise steeply, due to the bacteria and viruses that cause them densely populating indoor air.

In fact, if we had to really grasp the extent of allergens, particles, germs and irritants that circulate through our indoor air during the winter months, we would probably wonder how it is that we can breathe at all.

The good news is, using a high-quality air purifier can reduce – and even completely eradicate – winter allergy symptoms and significantly reduce your susceptibility for catching a cold or getting the flu.

pbOffice (a division of PBSA) offers a range of top-quality air purifiers by IDEAL, which feature all the vital components needed to turn contaminated indoor air into pure, healthy and allergen-free air – including HEPA filters and intelligent air quality sensors.

Our devices work on a six-stage AEON Blue air purification system, which filters almost 100% of the smallest particles and pathogenic germs from the polluted air before they reach your airway. Additionally, the clean air is enriched with negative ions – oxygen atoms that are charged with an extra electron (as found in nature) and are proven to have significant health benefits.

With pbOffice’s air purification solutions, you can safely say goodbye to indoor air pollutants like viruses and bacteria, pollen, animal hair, chemical fumes, dust, odours, tobacco smoke and aerosol fumes.

This winter, don’t succumb – invest in and enjoy a quality air purifier for your home and office and say goodbye to the “sick season” blues.

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The company’s hard drive shredders offer local businesses a sure-fire way of complying with the act’s stringent data protection laws.

This year, the implementation date for the much-publicised Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act is expected to be announced, and local businesses will have a year from this date to become compliant – or face severe penalties.

Passed into South African law towards the end of 2013, the POPI Act essentially regulates how companies store and secure personal information of individuals and entities. Because the act aligns South Africa with international laws on privacy, it includes some stringent rules that businesses – no matter their size – will need to follow to a T.

Wale Arewa, CEO of Secure IT asset disposal company Xperien, says, although the POPI Act gives companies a grace period of a year from commencement to comply with its requirements, they should make it a top priority now.

“There are serious penalties [for non-compliance with the act]. Besides the possibility of prison terms and fines of up to R10 million, POPI also allows individuals to institute civil claims. This means there is the possibility of further financial loss on top of any fine that may be imposed,” warns Arewa.

Data demolition

One of the POPI Act’s key objectives is to ensure customer data is destroyed sufficiently. According to the act, user data cannot be kept for longer than necessary and will have to be completely destroyed – not merely deleted or superficially disposed of.

This means it is simply not good enough for companies to wipe or format a hard drive, nor is it sufficient to toss it out, regardless of how unlikely it may be that it will be discovered.

The only sure-fire way to destroy data, is to physically shred it – a method vouched for by international business news site Bloomberg, in an article entitled “The right way to destroy sensitive data”.

“Hard drives are fed into a machine that resembles a photocopier, which chews and spits out slivers of scrap metal,” the site explains.

Both fully data protection compliant, the two hard drive shredders destroy digital media devices in a safe and economical way. These safe and easy-to-use devices shred hard drives into tiny particles – ensuring absolute and irreversible destruction of all data contained on them.

Designed with longevity in mind, both hard drive shredders feature sturdy, solid steel-cutting units and powerful drives. Additionally, because the units feature high throughput capacity and energy-saving continuous operation, they are an intelligent choice for businesses seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.